The Cadillac CTS-V
Cadillac are one of the best known makers of luxury cars in the world but the need to expand their lineup has resulted in production of the CTS-V. In an attempt to move into the high performance car market the company is now offering an upgraded version of their most popular model. Whether Cadillac will be successful in their attempt remains to be seen but so far the reviews have been generally positive so there is grounds for optimism.
Cadillac has long been known as one of the world's foremost manufacturers of luxury cars but with the CTS-V they have decided to enter into the high performance market. At the beginning of the twenty first century Cadillac were facing declining sales because they developed and image as a company that produced rather boring, conservative luxury cars. They were losing market share to the European manufacturers and at the same time facing new competition as the Japanese makers started moving into the luxury car market. In order to compete Cadillac realized that they would need to introduce more stylish cars the result was the Cadillac CTS.
The Cadillac CTS sold well and helped to turn around the fortunes of the company. On the strength of this success they decided to enter into the high performance luxury car market. In order to do this they created a high performance version of the CTS called the CTS-V. This was basically a CTS with the drive train out of the Corvette. The car quickly gained a good reputation in the high performance luxury car market getting a series of good reviews however sales continue to lag behind the more established manufactures like Mercedes and BMW.
Although the CTS-V developed a good reputation there were some issues with the early models of the car according to The Cadillac Blog. The biggest being with the rear differential, it was claimed that the engine could produce more torque than the half shaft could handle. There were a number of complaints about this and although they never officially acknowledged the problem they did change the differential on 2006 model.
The Cadillac CTS-V has been successful enough that General Motors redesigned the car for the 2009 model year. In addition to restyling the car they now offer a variety of transmission options other than the six speed manual that was the only choice on the original. They have also introduced a sports wagon and a coupe version. Cadillac has a lot invested in the CTS and the CTS-V and they view them as a way to change the company's image and to regain some of their lost market share. Only time will tell if they are successful at this but the general consensus seems to be that the CTS-V is a top quality, high performance, luxury car and well capable of competing with the more established players in this class of vehicle.